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World U20 Championships: Jessica Oji Delivers Historic Shot Put Gold for Nigeria in Eugene
Jessica Oji made history for Nigeria at the World U20 Championships, winning a landmark shot put gold medal in Eugene.
The Nigerian produced a commanding performance in the women’s shot put to claim the title with a best throw of 18.08 metres, becoming the first Nigerian athlete to win a world championship gold in a field event at any level.
Oji opened her series with an impressive 18.05m before improving to 18.08m on her third attempt. She followed that with 17.95m, while her fourth effort was ruled a foul.
Her winning mark was enough to keep her at the summit of the standings, with Oji emerging as the only competitor to surpass the 18-metre barrier.
The historic victory represents a major milestone for Nigerian athletics and adds another significant achievement to the country’s growing reputation in global track and field.
Nigeria also advanced to the final of the mixed 4x100m relay after finishing second in their heat in 41.91 seconds.
Miracle Ezechukwu delivered one of the standout moments of the qualifying round, producing a spectacular anchor leg with a 10.05-second split.
The Nigerian dramatically reduced the deficit to Germany and came close to overtaking the United States in the closing stages.
Ezechukwu teamed up with Tejiri Godwin, Rosemary Nwankwo and Perfect Faye to secure Nigeria’s place in the final.
Precious Opinion also boosted Nigeria’s medal prospects by reaching the men’s triple jump final with a personal-best leap of 16.02m.
The mark, achieved with a legal wind reading of -0.9m/s, ranked fourth among the qualifiers and leaves Opinion within reach of a podium finish.
Jecinta Lawrence and Faith Ezechukwu were unable to advance to the women’s 400m final after exiting at the semifinal stage.
Lawrence clocked 54.86 seconds to finish seventh in her semifinal, while Ezechukwu recorded 54.68 seconds to place eighth.
Both had earlier secured automatic qualification from the opening round, with Lawrence running 53.97 seconds and Ezechukwu 54.38 seconds.
David Dominion Udoh’s men’s 400m campaign, meanwhile, ended in the opening round after he was disqualified for a lane infringement under Technical Rule 17.3.3.
With Oji already securing a historic gold, Nigeria will now turn its attention to the remaining finals in Eugene.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has introduced fresh guidelines restricting ministers, political appointees and campaign council members to rallies organised in their respective home states ahead of the 2027 general election.
Politics Nigeria reports that the directive was contained in a circular dated Tuesday and signed by the Director-General of the council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar. It was addressed to all directors and heads of directorates.
The circular outlined participation guidelines for the party’s presidential campaign rallies across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
According to the council, the guidelines are intended to ensure effective coordination and grassroots mobilisation as the APC intensifies its nationwide campaign.
It described the rallies as platforms for strengthening the party’s support base and communicating the achievements of President Bola Tinubu to voters.
“Campaign rallies are intended to energise the base of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the states and zones, and to communicate the achievements of His Excellency, the President, to the electorate,” the circular stated.
The council directed directorates without specific responsibilities at the rallies to concentrate on implementing their approved work plans and budgets.
Ministers and other political appointees were specifically instructed to attend only rallies organised in their home states.
“They are required to attend only the rallies held in their home states,” the circular stated.
It further directed the appointees to concentrate on grassroots mobilisation across polling units, wards and Local Government Areas (LGAs), in line with the campaign’s pyramid structure.
Members of the Presidential Campaign Council were also restricted to rallies in their respective home states and instructed to focus on implementing their directorates’ approved work plans.
The circular stated that they were expected to strengthen grassroots mobilisation across polling units, wards and LGAs.
For members of the APC National Working Committee (NWC), the council directed them to concentrate on party activities and mobilisation within their respective states and geopolitical zones.
However, the directive exempted the National Chairman, National Secretary, National Women’s Leader, National Youth Leader and National Organising Secretary from the home-state attendance restriction.
The council also announced plans to increase the visibility of the party’s legislative candidates during the rallies.
It said it would strengthen the presence of APC candidates contesting seats in the State Houses of Assembly, House of Representatives and Senate.
Directors were subsequently instructed to communicate the guidelines to all officers under their respective directorates and ensure compliance.
The latest directive comes about three weeks after President Tinubu announced that he would not attend every APC campaign rally ahead of the 2027 elections, citing the demands of governance and the country’s financial obligations.
Speaking on October 14, 2026, during the inauguration of the Presidential Campaign Council in Abuja, Tinubu urged members to take charge of the party’s mobilisation efforts across the country while he concentrated on governance.
“You’ve warned me not to allow the rigour of the campaign to distract me from governance, I hear you. I am in full agreement with your decision. Nigeria needs more attention now,” he said.
The president also told campaign council members that he would be unable to accompany them to every campaign event.
“So, you will excuse me from going everywhere with you, we have bills to pay. The American creditors cannot wait,” he said.
Tinubu, however, assured the council that he would make time to address Nigerians directly while members coordinated campaign activities across states and local government areas.
Following his announcement, the APC released a nationwide campaign timetable covering the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Under the schedule, Tinubu is expected to lead rallies in 12 states, including Rivers, Plateau, Oyo, Borno, Enugu, Bauchi, Sokoto, Delta, Kano and Adamawa.
Lagos State is scheduled to host the grand finale of the campaign on January 9, 2027.
Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has denied establishing a separate presidential campaign council outside the one inaugurated by President Bola Tinubu, with Governor Ademola Adeleke appointed as the state coordinator.
The party said it remained committed to working with Governor Adeleke to secure victory for Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, dismissing reports suggesting the creation of a parallel campaign structure.
The Osun APC Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, disclosed this in a press statement issued on Wednesday.
According to the party, "the separate committee recently constituted in the state was exclusively established to coordinate campaigns for APC candidates contesting national and state legislative elections."
It explained that the committee, known as the Parliamentary Campaign Committee, was headed by the party's governorship candidate in the last election, Bola Oyebamiji, popularly known as AMBO, as its Director-General.
The APC said there was no justification for establishing another presidential campaign committee when Governor Adeleke had already been appointed to coordinate President Tinubu's campaign in Osun State.
"Nothing could have warranted our party to inaugurate a parallel presidential election campaign committee when it is in the public domain that Governor Adeleke has been appointed the campaign committee coordinator," the statement said.
The party expressed appreciation to the governor for his willingness to work with other political parties towards securing more than 1.5 million votes for Tinubu in the forthcoming presidential election.
"We have said it times without number that we are grateful to Governor Adeleke for his demonstrated resolve to lead the campaign for our presidential candidate, and that we are ready and willing as a party to work with him," Olabisi stated.
The APC also cited the rally held last Saturday at Nelson Mandela Park, Osogbo, as evidence of its commitment to collaborating with the governor to secure Tinubu's electoral victory.
It urged individuals allegedly attempting to create divisions within the political alliance to desist, warning against actions capable of generating rancour and disunity.
"Our appeal is to the agents of evil machination to desist from trying to bring rancour, division and disunity to the rainbow coalition, which is evidently yielding bountiful results," the statement added.
The party clarified that Oyebamiji remained the Director-General of its parliamentary campaign organisation while also participating in efforts to promote Tinubu's achievements and mobilise more than 1.5 million votes for the President.
The Osun APC also acknowledged some members of its State Executive Committee who reportedly complained about the omission of their names from the campaign committee list circulated on social media, noting that only four of the 35 executive members were excluded.
It said their reaction demonstrated their willingness to participate actively in the Oyebamiji-led parliamentary campaign council.
Osun APC denies parallel Tinubu presidential campaign council
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